HB 1577 would amend Florida’s cemetery access law to add a new rule for abandoned cemeteries located on, under, or adjacent to private property. Under the bill, if credible evidence shows that an abandoned cemetery exists in one of those locations, the state must be granted an easement for ingress and egress so it can enter the property at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner. The access would be for maintenance, research, and noninvasive searches, and the property owner would receive reasonable notice before access is exercised.
The bill also leaves intact the existing law that gives relatives and descendants of people buried in a cemetery an easement to visit the cemetery and, if the cemetery is abandoned or not maintained, the right to request maintenance and, if necessary, perform maintenance themselves when the owner refuses or fails to do so. The bill would take effect July 1, 2025, if enacted.
HB 1577 would expand section 704.08, Florida Statutes, by creating a state-level access right to abandoned cemeteries on private land. It would require private landowners to allow state ingress and egress for maintenance, research, and noninvasive searches when credible evidence supports the existence of an abandoned cemetery, thereby adding a new statutory easement that could affect property rights, land use, and preservation efforts. The bill would primarily affect private property owners, state agencies or entities involved in cemetery preservation or investigation, and descendants or researchers seeking to locate and document burial sites.
The available record suggests the bill was not controversial enough to generate recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, but its subject matter indicates a preservation-oriented approach. The bill appears to have been viewed as a measure to improve access to and protection of abandoned burial sites, while still respecting private property by requiring reasonable notice and limiting access to reasonable times and manners. Its final status, dying in the Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee, indicates it did not advance despite the policy being framed in a relatively narrow and procedural way.
The main point of potential contention is the balance between cemetery preservation and private property rights. Supporters would likely favor the bill’s ability to ensure state access for maintenance and research of abandoned cemeteries, especially where burial sites may be neglected or difficult to identify. Opponents or concerned landowners may object to the mandatory easement on private land, arguing that it expands government access without the owner’s consent and could create uncertainty about what qualifies as “credible evidence” of an abandoned cemetery. The bill tries to limit that concern by requiring reasonable notice and reasonable access conditions.